bob bolton
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I have Orvis, Sage, Lamson, Ross, Billy Pate, and Hardy reels. They all work fine and I personally have no complaints about any of them. I think I like Ross the best but there is no logical reason for it. Except my Evolution is really light and I like light. (Strange statement from someone who owns a Pate).
Couple of things about reels that are used on fresh water. Durability is usually not a problem unless you are a guide or you are one of those lucky people who is retired and you fish all the time. All the above are reasonably well made and I have only heard about one problem on salt which I’ll tell later.
Drag is over hyped in my opinion. I always set my drag light because when a fish takes you to the reel, he is usually carrying the mail. Which means he hits your drag like a freight train so so called “start up torque” is meaningless. Many times you never play a fish off the reel, and that includes many steelhead who tend to want to stay around the redd where they are hooked. It is certainly true of big browns who take off on a dead run only by accident. The greatest drag on earth is your palm on the reel rim. Infinitely and instantly variable. Now all this may be different on lakes (which I don’t fish) but it is certainly true on salt. Those of you who routinely get up in the 50 pound or over class will probably disagree and you are probably right. You couldn’t prove it by me because I am never up in that class.
I did hear a complaint on a Lamson on salt because the screws which hold the reel body to the foot are really small. After some salt water has etched them a bit (even if you do a fresh water rinse religiously), a big fish can jerk the reel right off the foot when the screws shear. That’s if you have some heavy drag set. I had a guide tell me he watched it happen.
One more thing. I have had my Pate save a few fish because of the anti-reverse. When a big steelie does take off, it is usually downstream and you have to chase him. If you are clambering over big rocks and stuff, it is nice to worry about your walking and let Mr. Anti-reverse do it’s thing. You can crank up the drag a bit and just hold the rod up in the air while you practice your water bound marathon.
My $.02
Godspeed,
Bob
I am a retired engineer. I spent most of my technical career designing engines for General Motors. I have been responsible for the design or involved in the design of over 20 experimental and production engines including the Saturn, several V-6’s, and the Truck Line Family including the Envoy, H3, and Colorado engines. After retirement, I started my own consulting company where I run projects and write technical design manuals. I do some non-technical writing and maintain a website (http://www.HATofMichigan.org) for handicapped fly fishermen. I also have written one book, You Can’t Make a Living Tying Flies, published through Trafford and I have written a number of articles on fly fishing, fly casting, and the environment all of which are available for download off the previous website.
That’s me.
Bob Bolton
I had to quit competition shooting some years ago because of a neck injury and spinal fusion. I can’t take any substantial recoil for a sustained period. I start to flinch even with downloaded 20 gage rounds. I had 2 Ruger Red Lable o/u’s – one 12 and one 20. I preferred the 12 for pheasant and sporting claus. I liked the 20 for skeet and ruffed. I really like an O/U for competition because you don’t have to pick up hulls and you have 2 chokes.
When I downsized, because of recoil, I went to a S X S 28 gage which I use for ruffed and sometimes even pheasant. Let me tell you, a 12 gage is murder on a pheasant – breaks bones, cracks wings. The bird usually comes down dead. But with my 28, the bird is still looking when the dog gets there. Can’t run or fly, but not dead yet.
Grouse are more honest and a 28 works just fine.
But one comment about a S X S. Instinctive shooting, which is usually all you get on grouse and timber doodles, is much better with this configuration. It’s more like pointing and swinging with a broom handle. My % of hits went way up with that gun over my 20.
Not that any of this really matters. I just felt like talking.
Godspeed,
Bob
Brown trout – no
and
lamprey – no
Zebra’s – no
snake fish – no
lion fish – noand none of the above came into the great lakes on waders 😮
Night fishing for browns when there is no mega hatch, you want it pitch black. This means fishing from waning half to new moon. A full moon is nearly straight up at midnight and is high at 10:00 P.M.- the bewitching hour when big browns start to prowl for frogs and mice. Wait a week after full and fish in the darkness.
Never seen any other effect on rivers and streams. On salt, fish the beaches on half moons at 6:00 to 8:00 A.M. Moon cycles (i.e. tide cycles) are critical on salt beaches and in the mangroves. Learn to read the moon and you won’t need tide charts anymore.
Bob
Zach,
August is prime nite time brown fishing in Michigan. Best month of the year for local big (22″ and up) stream browns with an attitude.
Also, I picked up a Turkish SXS double in 28 gage for grouse. Great little gun that didn’t break the bank. Nicely made and engraved. Look on the DeHaunshotguns website. Weighs maybe 5 1/2 pounds. Now if I can keep my young Brittany from chasing deer, I’ll have October sacked too.
Have fun hiking. I sleep during the day in August.
Bob
I use pretty much whatever I have at the time. With a little fooling around, almost anything will work. Hack out a piece of that, tie in a piece of this, you know. Sometimes I buy a bunch of tapered leaders on sale and redo the tippet end to get a better presentation. Saves me having to tie the whole think at home.
I have used both braided and furled leaders. Both turn over and roll cast with very little effort. Furled leaders are better than braded because they spray less on a pick-up. I have spooked the next fish down when picking up on a refusal for a new presentation with the spray from a braided leader.
An expert on furled leaders(besides Fly Goddess) in the south is Jack Hise. You can contact him over on http://www.flyanglersonline.com. Blue sky also sells them.
Bob
From “You Can’t Make a Living Tying Flies” on my web site.
Appendix: Audubon Autumn
Ever bird hunter wants a hunting dog. Somewhere along the line, when I got into bird hunting, I decided to get my own dog. I don’t know if it was Skippy, the bird eating dog, or hunting behind the Racke’s labs, or hunting behind Al Bryant’s Brittany, I decided to buy one. It wasn’t bad timing because our beloved family pet, Pepper, had passed on and we had an opening. I was put onto a breeder who specialized in Brittany’s. Long story short, in 1992 I had a bright bouncing baby Brittany brat. These dogs are terrible until they get to about a year and a half old. Liked to drive my wife crazy.
When Autumn was about a year old, I took her out in a field at Stony Creek Park and started working her with dummies (not me, the one’s you throw). I tried a starter pistol over her and it scared her a lot. I had heard stories about getting dogs gun shy and that Brittany’s were particularly susceptible. So I quit right there and called Preston Mann Jr. and asked him what to do. He said, “Don’t shoot over her until she is at least 18 months old and bring her to me before you do.” This was to be the best advice I was ever given.
When Autumn was 18 months old, I took her out to Preston’s place and we went out to one of the farms he leases for Farmland Pheasant Hunters – a club he runs for fair chase hunting planted birds on leased farmland. He brought 4 pheasants with him in a box. We went out in an open field of alfalfa about 2 feet high. It was late fall and the grass was already dormant. Preston wrung the neck of one of the birds and hid it in the field about 30 yards from Autumn and I. I released Autumn and let her find the bird and play with it a while.
The next bird he pulled out the flight feathers from it’s wings, twirled it around by the feet a bit, and hid it in the field. I released Autumn and let her find the bird. She locked on point and we flushed the bird but it couldn’t fly very far. We let Autumn point, flush, and play around chasing the bird but she couldn’t catch it. Preston finally killed the bird and let her catch up and play with it.
The next bird he just twirled it around by it’s feet a bit and again hid it in the hay. He looked at me and said, “You can’t miss this bird. You must kill it over her or all bets are off.” No pressure – right. Well, Autumn did point the bird, the bird did flush, and I did shoot the bird. At the crack of the 20 gage, Autumn flinched but the bird came down in front of her. Cool. One more bird, one more bang, one more flinch, one more bird dropped from the sky. A light came on in Autumn’s head. Bang
bird. Cool. From that moment on Autumn would run towards gun fire. No gun shy dog here thanks to Preston.
Later I said, “What do I owe you Preston?” “Nothing, just pay for the birds at the going rate and join Farmland Pheasant Hunters.” Autumn and I have spent many pleasant hours wandering some of those fields.We all have our special places. Places where we think we are at home and are known only to us an a few more. Thuth is, this may be only in out minds and many others may know these places and not feel as linked to them as are we.
In my opinion, people write about these places more to share their experience rather than glory seek just to get their name in print.
But you can write about these places without telling where they are. Try this:
http://www.hatofmichigan.org/uploads/My_Secret_Garden.pdf
Bob
Zach,
Most, but not all, will agree that the modern plastic line is a wonderous thing. I would like to hear about the early days at SA, when Leon Martuch , Clare Harris, and Paul Rottiers founded the company and when they introduced micro baloons and such. I think Bruce Richards or Jim Birkholm would be good people to talk to. I am afraid that if someone doesn’t write it down, it will be lost to us.
Forget about taper. It’s all hype anyway. Once you get past weight and WF, the rest is mostly sales IMHO.
Bob
Zach,
I sometimes pick up Jack Crevalle fishing for snook and red’s in the flats south of Marco. They are kinda like a little Permit. Really feisty for their size. We use a lot of purple EP’s in 2/0. Snook like them and there isn’t a big glob of lead to break your rod. Eight weight’s are fine. If your friend can throw a normal saltwater taper floater 80 feet or so, he should be okay. I use an Orvis redfish I think its called.
Try fishing the beach at high tide especially early in the morning. Watch for stingrays if you get in the water. Walk the beach about 10 feet back and watch for snook running the slot parrallel to the beach. You can usually see them coming. They will be spooky though.
Naples beach off Port Royal liiks like this,
I actually caught a real live Permit off that beach. Really rare. Most people would say “you really caught a Pompamo,”
Trouble is Andrew, “fast” means different things to different people. A heavier line will load the rod more deeply for the same carried length and most people will call that “slower.” But there are as many opinions as people so someone will say it was faster.
Godspeed,
Bob
Many people have struggled for some time to try to convert words like “feel” and “fast” and “stiff” and “full flex” and many more to real numbers. The most comprehensive data base is the CCS system and the most important number in there is ERN. This ends up being a measure of the static load carrying capability of a rod. Work on the dynamic characteristics to supplant words like “quick” and “light” and others appear to be best summarized by Magnus Angus with his work on MOI which will be added to the data base at some point. Eventually, the rod manufactures will zero in on the fine work by Bill and Magnus and rod static and dynamic characteristics will be summarized relatively well on one plot of ERN vs MOI. Then everyone can find out what all those words really mean in terms of physical variables. You can find Bill’s work on CCS by googleing Common Cents System, Magnus and Grunde Lovell’s work can be seen on http://www.Sexyloops.com on the board under tackle – rod deflection. Or you can really bore yourself with my stuff on http://www.HATofMichigam.org – go to the e-book page and see “Mechanics of Fly Casting 1-5”. Only bother to do this if you are really interested in the F=MA stuff and are wanting to spend a little time.
Godspeed,
Bob
July or August
When I am fishing during the day in summer (I usually fish at night for browns), a hopper with a little sparkle shrimp dropper, #14 or smaller. That’s right – shrimp. I have had many trout come up and look at the hopper and take the shrimp on the way back down. Works better than any nymph I have tried
Godspeed,
Bob
You guys interested in cold Michigan steel might like this.
http://www.hatofmichigan.org/uploads/TyingFlies_ebook.pdf
I’m getting too old and slow to do this as much but I still enjoy it once in a while.
Godspeed,
Bob Bolton
Jocelin
http://www.hatofmichigan.org/uploads/Mechanics … ting_5.pdf
If you liked Bill’s stuff, you may enjoy this too. Or it will put you to sleep at night. Either way, it would have a use.Bob
http://www.hatofmichigan.org/uploads/Mechanics … ting_5.pdfI have a Filson waxed cotton jacket. The plain truth is that it is not as good as gore-tex. But it smells cool. And it looks cool. And it works well enough. And it would stop a bullet – let alone briar and barbed wire. And I love it.
Ah, waxed cotton. It’s kinda like single malt scotch, and cuban cigars, and bamboo fly rods, and the sound of a flushing grouse and the crack of a 28 gage SXS in the cool autumn air, and the feel of a fresh run steelhead hitting a streamer. A warm fire before bed, a down sleeping bag to cuddle up in, and elk to sing you to sleep. It’s a good life if you don’t weaken.
Godspeed,
Bob Bolton
Okay, I found a nice place to try. Large warm water outlet, sandy beach both sides, no piers, access and parking. Now, when do I go? Is this a summer thing? Or do I go in May or September when steelhead or salmon are getting river horny?
If this is a summer thing I could go bare legged like I do in Naples. Just beach boots. If it’s May, I might have to dig out my neoprenes. I haven’t been this excited in a while. Help!
Bob
